Something You Should Know - Great Ways to Save Money in 2018 & Why You Feel Embarrassment – and How Not To

Episode Date: January 1, 2018

I love strawberries. But I hate how they go moldy so fast. Well, there is a way to make them last longer – and that is just one of the great life hacks I have for you to begin this episode. Then, if you want to save money, the people at Consumer Reports are experts. Senior Editor Tobie Stanger joins me with some simple but powerful ways to keep more of your own money in your own pocket. Also, if you have trouble sleeping and counting sheep doesn’t work, there are other, far more effective ways to lull yourself to sleep. I’ll reveal some easy, proven ways. Then, why do we feel embarrassment? In those moments when you think you’ve made a huge embarrassing blunder – what do other people actually think? Probably not what you think they think. Embarrassment expert David Allyn, author of the book, I Can’t Believe I Just Did That (http://amzn.to/2zMSoqD) offers some valuable insight into embarrassment and how NOT to feel so bad when you screw up.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on Something You Should Know, some great new life hacks. One that will keep your strawberries from going moldy so fast. Then, from the experts at Consumer Reports, great ways to save money in the new year, like haggling. For instance, did you know you can negotiate a better price on tires? We did a survey and we found that shoppers who negotiated tire prices were successful almost three quarters of the time and they saved a median of $22 per tire. Also, how to fall asleep when counting sheep doesn't work. And dealing with embarrassment, starting with why we get embarrassed in the first place. We know that people imagine that there's a spotlight on them and that others are judging them harshly and mocking them or laughing at them. And most people are actually thinking about themselves. They're not thinking about you or me.

All this today on Something You Should Know, I can only assume that you are someone who likes to learn about new and interesting things and bring more knowledge to work for you in your everyday life. I mean, that's kind of what Something You Should Know was all about. And so I want to invite you to listen to another podcast called TED Talks Daily. Now, you know about TED Talks, right? Many of the guests on Something You Should Know have done TED Talks Daily. Now, you know about Ted Talks, right? Many of the guests on Something You Should Know have done Ted Talks. Well, you see, Ted Talks Daily is a podcast that brings you a new Ted Talk every weekday in less than 15 minutes. Join host Elise Hu.

She goes beyond the headlines so you can hear about the big ideas shaping our future. Learn about things like sustainable fashion, embracing your entrepreneurial spirit, the future of robotics, and so much more. Like I said, if you like this podcast, Something You Should Know, I'm pretty sure you're going to like TED Talks Daily. And you get TED Talks Daily wherever you get your podcasts. Something You Should Know.

Fascinating intel. The world's top experts. And practical advice you can use in your life. Today, Something You Should Know with Mike Carruthers. Hi, Happy New Year. Welcome to the first episode of 2018 of the Something You Should Know podcast. I'm Mike Kerr Brothers, and before we go on, first, a thank you for making last year, 2017, such a stellar breakout year for this program. We hit huge new audience highs, and the audience continues to grow.

Thanks to you for listening and telling other people about this podcast. The growth has really been amazing, so thank you. We start the first program of 2018 with life hacks, because I love life hacks. And these are some good ones. They come from House Beautiful Magazine. First of all, how do you remove deodorant stains from clothes? Well, there's a little trick. You get some of that foam that comes wrapped around the hanger from most dry cleaners. You know when you get your clothes back, they've got that foam wrapped around it? Well, you just take that foam, rub it on the deodorant stain spot, and the spot is gone.

No water required. Here's one everyone can use, and that is how to extend the life of strawberries. How often have you bought a basket of strawberries, brought them home, and the next day they're moldy before you've even had a chance to use them? But if you wash the strawberries in one cup of vinegar and three cups of water before you put them in the fridge, you'll kill that bacteria that makes them go moldy so quickly. You just have to be sure you dry them that bacteria that makes them go moldy so quickly. You just have to be sure you dry them thoroughly before you store them away. Here's how to use fewer paper

towels. Because, you know, it's easy to just grab a wad of paper towels to clean up a mess. But there is a technique that allows you to use far fewer paper towels. All you do is use one paper towel at a time, and here's the trick, fold it first. When you fold a paper towel, it allows for something called interstitial suspension to occur. What that means is that the droplets of moisture can cling to the towel as well as each other in between the fold, basically increasing the amount that the paper towel can actually hold. It's really amazing how much more it will hold. And here's one that anyone who spends time in the kitchen will like. It's how to peel potatoes faster.

Instead of taking the time to peel your potatoes before putting them in the boiling water, just make a cut around the middle, deep enough to puncture the skin. Then after cooking, the skins will literally peel right off. And that is something you should know. If you'd like to make this new year the year you start saving some money, there are a few simple strategies that you can start doing right now that will allow you to keep more money in your pocket. And these are things recommended by Consumer Reports magazine.

In fact, joining me is Senior Editor for Consumer Reports, Toby Stanger. Hi, Toby. And let's start with car car insurance because from what I can tell, that's a pretty simple way to literally put hundreds of dollars back in your own pocket every year just by doing a little bit of homework. So what did you discover? We found that you may get a better price by breaking up with your car insurer because loyalty discounts do not necessarily exist the way people think they do. We have done number crunching with billions of pieces of data and found that just because someone has been

with a company a long time doesn't mean that they're going to get the best price. They often are trying to attract new clients. They may be punishing you. Maybe they don't really want you as a client that much, and so because of your demographic or whatever, and so maybe they're not offering you as good a price as you could get with a new company. Well, one of the reasons I think people don't shop for car insurance is because it's hard. I mean, you've got to call each company. You've got to make sure you're comparing apples to apples, that you're looking at the same coverage. So what's the best

way to shop to make this as easy and less painful as possible? So we like a website called thezebra.com, like the animal, the zebra, which compares a bunch of different auto insurance companies' prices. You put in your information. You don't have to get really detailed, but enough information so they can give you comparisons and they can give you more than a dozen different prices, and you'd be surprised at how different the same coverage can cost among different insurers. One thing that surprised me in your research was the recommendation that you should negotiate tire prices. We did a survey, and we found that shoppers who negotiated tire prices were successful almost three-quarters of the time, and they saved a median of $22 per tire.

So that's pretty impressive. We found in particular consumers who shopped at Discount Tire, Firestone, Complete Auto Care, and Tires Plus reported success rates of 80% or greater. So what the heck? Try it. Who would have thought? I would have never thought to negotiate tire price, just because it's not such a huge, it's a big expense, but it's not a huge expense. So I wouldn't even think to ask. Well, haggling in general, we find out, if we found out, is very useful. We did a survey and found out that a lot of our consumers even

haggle when they deal online. Now, how do you do that? Well, you get the customer service. You know, there's a chat with customer service, and you can say something like, I'm looking for a good deal. If you can take 10% off the price, I'll buy it right now. And in a lot of cases, you actually can get an online deal from Haggling. Who knew? I know there are a lot of new ways now online and different services that help people buy cars. But you talk about the add-ons, the things that after the price of the car has been negotiated, then the dealer starts adding on all these things and telling you how much you need them. So talk about those things. Well, right.

Especially when you're finalizing a new car purchase. They're going to ask you if you want, for example, VIN etching, you know, the vehicle identification number etching. And we find that they might charge another $200 for this, but you can as easily do it with an independent mechanic, or there are kits, auto engraving kits, you can etch the VIN into the windshield for $20. Yeah, and there's a whole bunch of these, right? Another one is fabric protection. Sometimes they'll charge you up to $400, and frankly, that's the most expensive Scotchgard treatment your seeds will ever see.

But we found that you can just get a can of fabric protector and do it yourself, and it'll cost a lot less. There's also paint sealant. This could be up to $600 as an add-on, and it's little more than overpriced liquid wax. So, again, this is something you can get at an auto supply store for about $10 and apply yourself. There's also rust-proofing, undercoating. That can cost $800. We find that most vehicles are today manufactured with corrosion protection, so that undercoating under your car is really unnecessary. And we found, on average, people who purchased an extended warranty spent hundreds more for coverage than they saved in repair costs.

So skip that one as well. Well, you guys have been on the bullhorn about extended warranties on everything for a long time, that they're primarily a waste of money. Yes, that's right. Consumer Reports is not high on extended warranties for the most part. Let's jump topics here. Let's talk about food. I know a lot of people want to eat healthy. They want to eat organic food, but organic food is more expensive than conventional food. So what's the advice there? One thing you may not realize is that you get as much nutrition

from frozen food as you do frozen vegetables, for example, as you do with fresh vegetables. So with organic, you may find some much better frozen organic deals than fresh. We found, for example, Nature's Promise, which is a brand, I think it's Stop and Shop. They have fresh green beans at $3.99 a pound, and the same 16 ounces is $1.99 when frozen. So it's worth looking in both places in the store. We found that store brands of organic food can often be far better deals than other kinds of brands. And actually, store brands in general we have often found, not just for organic, but check the store brands because you can save quite a bit. And with organic, you don't always have to buy organic. We found that there are some kinds of

fruits and vegetables that really are not going to be more healthy to buy you organic. So for example, we do recommend opting for organic in fruits and veggies that have high pesticide residues. So that would be carrots, cranberries, green beans, hot peppers, nectarines, peaches, tangerines, but not everything. So there may be other fruits and vegetables that you don't have to go that route and so you can save money. So you can check with ConsumerReports.org for more on that. We're talking about ways to save money, and my guest is Senior Editor for Consumer Reports, Toby Stanger. People who listen to Something You Should Know are curious about the world,

looking to hear new ideas and perspectives. So I want to tell you about a podcast that is full of new ideas and perspectives, and one I've started listening to called Intelligence Squared. It's the podcast where great minds meet. Listen in for some great talks on science, tech, politics, creativity, wellness, and a lot more. A couple of recent examples, Mustafa Suleiman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, discussing the future of technology. That's pretty cool. And writer, podcaster, and filmmaker John Ronson, discussing the rise of conspiracies and culture wars.

Intelligence Squared is the kind of podcast that gets you thinking a little more openly about the important conversations going on today. Being curious, you're probably just the type of person Intelligence Squared is meant for. Check out Intelligence Squared wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, this is Rob Benedict. And I am Richard Spate. We were both on a little show you might know called Supernatural. It had a pretty good run, 15 seasons, 327 episodes.

And though we have seen, of course, every episode many times, we figured, hey, now that we're wrapped, let's watch it all again. And we can't do that alone. So we're inviting the cast and crew that made the show along for the ride. We've got writers, producers, composers, directors,

and we'll, of course, have some actors on as well, including some certain guys that played some certain pretty iconic brothers. It was kind of a little bit of a left field choice in the best way possible. The note from Kripke was, he's great, we love him, but we're looking for like a really intelligent Duchovny type. With 15 seasons to explore, it's going to be the road trip of several lifetimes. So please join us and subscribe to Supernatural then and now. So Toby, now it's a new year and with the new year, people start thinking about doing their taxes for last year. And you have some ways to help people save money on that.

With the tax bill that everybody has been talking about, people may be very leery of doing their own taxes. But in actual fact, if you pay a tax professional, you're going to pay on average about $180 for a federal form 1040 that has the standard deduction and the state return. But we found that it's actually not that hard and not that expensive to use Tax Act or H&R Block or TaxSlay or TurboTax. They guide you through, and you can try it for free without even paying, and then decide whether you want to use it. And if you find that it's easy enough to use and they guarantee their accuracy, you might as well do that instead of paying a tax repair.

You know what my concern would be is, yeah, maybe you save money on tax preparation, but you might lose money on taxes if your taxes are a bit tricky and you really need the help of somebody that knows their way around a tax return. You may, but there are a lot. It will guide you. There's a lot of guidance. There are also many of these software packages offer you a way to contact a professional for free as part of the price or for very little money. So you can get that option. And after this year, a lot of people who are itemizing won't be itemizing anymore. So for 2018 going forward, there's even more benefit to using tax software because most people are going to be using the standard deduction.

Let's talk about ATM fees because that's, for so many people, I know people that will just drive way out of their way to find their own bank so they don't have to pay a fee to use a different ATM. I definitely feel that way. And one way to do it is just to use the debit function, just to use your debit card when you're purchasing items. And then it's coming directly from your bank account. You don't have to stop at the ATM. We've also found a service, a fairly new service called Zelle, capital Z-E-L-L-E. It's a person-to-person network, and it lets you send cash from your bank account directly to another person. A lot of banks have

this now. It's at Bank of America, at Chase, at Wells Fargo, and the money typically transfers in a couple of minutes. The problem, if're dealing with another person is the other person has to have it. But it's a useful device that doesn't require you to take out money from an ATM and get charged. And it's free? Yes, it's free. Yeah, I just saw Zelle on my bank's website offering that as a service to customers. I haven't used it. I've used Venmo, which sounds as if it's probably similar, about the same kind of thing. What about managing your

investments? Any advice there? So you can save a lot of money if you use one of these new, what they call robo-advisors. This is if you don't have a very complex investment account, you know, with real estate and stuff like that. If it's just, you know, your simple rollover IRA, you may do very well using a company like Betterment or Wealthfront because they charge far lower fees than you would be charged by a wealth manager or a personal advisor. If you had a $500,000 portfolio, you'd pay $5,000 to the financial advisor.

That's a lot of money. You could pay far less than that with one of these companies, and they may give you just as good advice. Or they may not. They may not, but if you have a simple account where you're just saving up the money over time, they will help you determine how to allocate it properly, and they will charge you less in general for that advice.

If you're going to spend $5,000, it might well be worth checking out a robo-advisor. But it does seem weird, though. I know you can get access to people, but it seems like your money is so personal that you'd want to talk to somebody. It really depends what your situation is. This is probably most useful for somebody who's not yet close to retirement. So they're building up their money. Mainly what you're doing is you're allocating your money into different kinds of accounts,

and that can be done fairly simply. When you get closer to retirement, I agree that it's probably better to speak with an advisor who can be telling you what you should be planning for in the future and what you should be doing once you have to take money out in retirement. Lastly, can you talk about some of the things that you recommend people don't try to skimp on? Yeah, so there's a few things that people may think they can get away with and we don't recommend. For example, as a lot of people may have unwittingly learned with all the various natural disasters that have gone on, you have to have the proper amount of homeowners insurance. There is something called actual cash value homeowners insurance that only covers for your home content.

We recommend that you always get what's called replacement cost coverage because if you get the other kind actual cash value it will only replace the content it will only replace the depreciated value of your content so if you have a very serious loss you are only going to get you're not going to get enough back to replace those items so it's worth paying more for that we found you shouldn't skimp on sunscreen. Now, I don't mean that you shouldn't pay for the least expensive effective sunscreen, but don't skimp when you put it on.

There is actually, you know, you really are supposed to kind of gob it on to make sure that you're well protected. And you can check on ConsumerReports.org for more advice on how much you need to put on. But it's more than you think. Another thing that we think you should pay for and not skimp on are certain car safety features. So, for example, forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking are far more important than, say, having a sunroof or leather seats. So if you need to skimp on something, it's better to skimp on those items that really don't have to do with your safety and put the money into safety items.

One thing that I think people are concerned about and or complain about is the price of cable TV or satellite TV and how the channels are bundled, and you get a bunch of channels you never watch, but you've got to pay for them. And I know I've, you know, heard more and more people are cutting their cable and all, but some of us don't want to give up certain channels, particularly local news channels and that kind of thing. So what's the advice there? There are lots of options available. In the past, if you didn't pay for your big package that had all the channels, then you'd end up missing the ones you really wanted. But there are newer

internet TV services like DirecTV Now, Hulu, Live TV, Sling, and they include conventional channels in their mix. So for example, Direct TV Now charges $35 a month, and it's for a bucket of more than 60 channels, and it's most likely going to have the major channels that most people are interested in. So that's a big savings over, say, paying for a big package where you have 500 channels. So that's worth looking into. You really should think about buying your own router or modem for your internet and cable at home because, in fact, you could be paying $60 to $120 a year for that service because you're renting it from the company, and it may be better just to buy one. And you can look on consumerreports.org for some ideas of the best routers and the best

modems to get to save money. Why not buy the thing and not pay that price every year? You know what's good about this, at least for me, and I imagine for other people too, as I listen to you talk about ways to save money, I'm starting to think of other ways I could probably save some money. So this is like a good kickstart into other ways to put some money back in my pocket in 2018. That is Toby Stanger. She is a senior editor for Consumer Reports magazine. And many of the things that we talked about today, you will find in the February 2018 issue of Consumer Reports magazine. And many of the things that we talked about today you will find in the February 2018 issue of Consumer Reports.

And we are giving you a little sneak peek right now. Appreciate the time. Thank you, Toby. Okay, thank you. Take care. Bye-bye. Since I host a podcast, it's pretty common for me to be asked

to recommend a podcast. And I tell people, if you like something you should know, you're going to like The Jordan Harbinger Show. Every episode is a conversation with a fascinating guest. Of course, a lot of podcasts are conversations with guests, but Jordan does it better than most. Recently, he had a fascinating conversation with a British woman

who was recruited and radicalized by ISIS and went to prison for three years. She now works to raise awareness on this issue. It's a great conversation. And he spoke with Dr. Sarah Hill about how taking birth control not only prevents pregnancy, it can influence a woman's partner preferences, career choices, and overall behavior due to the hormonal changes it causes. Apple named The Jordan Harbinger Show one of the best podcasts a few years back,

and in a nutshell, the show is aimed at making you a better, more informed, critical thinker. Check out The Jordan Harbinger Show. There's so much for you in this podcast. The Jordan Harbinger Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you love Disney? Then you are going to love our hit podcast, Disney Countdown. I'm Megan, the Magical Millennial. And I'm the Dapper Danielle. On every episode of our fun and family-friendly show, we count down our top 10 lists of all things Disney. There is nothing we don't cover. We are famous for rabbit holes, Disney themed games, and fun facts you didn't know you needed, but you definitely need

in your life. So if you're looking for a healthy dose of Disney magic, check out Disney Countdown wherever you get your podcasts. You and I and pretty much everyone in the whole world have something in common. And that is we have all done something really embarrassing in front of other people and felt that horrible feeling of embarrassment. What is that feeling of embarrassment? Why do we feel it? And can we do anything to not feel so horrible when we do that inevitable, embarrassing thing? Well, here to discuss that is David Allen. He studied this, and he is author of a book called I Can't Believe I Just Did That.

Welcome, David. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. So, when I'm embarrassed, when I do something in front of other people that I feel really stupid about, I know most likely I'm a lot harder on myself than those other people are being on me. Would you agree with that? And if so, why is that? Yes. So that's a phenomenon that we refer to as the imaginary spotlight effect. So we know that people have a tendency to imagine that there's a spotlight on them and that others are judging them harshly and mocking them or ridiculing them or laughing at them. And that imaginary spotlight is disproportionate to the reality. Most people are actually thinking about themselves.

They're not thinking about you or me. But it's a fairly universal phenomenon that we tend to think that we're at the center of attention. So what is that feeling, that embarrassment feeling of whatever that is? It must serve a purpose or it must have served a purpose. What is it? Well, we think that in evolutionary terms that when you're embarrassed, you project certain signals. So your face turns red, you tend to smile, you might put your hands in front of your face. Embarrassment correlates with very specific physical activities. And we think that those are signals that send the message, what just happened was unintentional. It wasn't meant to be a threat. I wasn't trying to take more food. I wasn't trying to take power.

It was a mistake. And so embarrassment is what social sciences call a pro-social phenomenon. It sends a signal, I'm okay. I'm trustworthy. I like you. You can like me. We can all get along. And yet it feels horrible.

It does feel horrible. If only it felt as good as the message it's sending, but it doesn't. It does feel bad. Scientists think it really is located in what's called the anterior cingulate cortex, and that regulates a lot of body functions. And when embarrassment happens, it also triggers sweating and a high heartbeat and heavy breathing, and it's all kind of connected in there. So, yes, it doesn't feel good.

And it doesn't feel good for anyone other than this being kind of an interesting topic to talk about why is this important why why are we talking about it because everybody everybody has felt embarrassed everybody's been in a situation where they've seen someone else be embarrassed we all know what it is we all get it so why is this important well i think there are a couple things about it that are important. So one is, I was talking about the section of the brain, the anterior cingulate cortex, that is related to feelings of embarrassment. And we know that in adolescence, that section of the brain is developing very, very rapidly. And as a result, adolescents are over-sensitive. They're

over-attuned to what they suppose are the opinions of others. So they are scanning the faces of others. They're hyper-vigilant about what others might think about them. And we want adolescents to know this is just their brain. This is part of their brain developing rapidly. Just because their brain is sending this signal, they think I'm stupid. They think I'm terrible. It's happening to all adolescents all the time, and it's not correlated with reality. So that's a very important message that we need adolescents to learn. And then there are other reasons to talk about embarrassment. I happen to think embarrassment is, like I said before, it's a pro-social phenomenon. So it's often a very, very good thing. It's good that we're afraid of embarrassment. It's a glue that keeps society healthy and keeps strong norms in place. But it does sometimes have a negative

impact as well, which is the fear of embarrassment prevents us from making new connections, prevents us from engaging in interactions that can further the causes we believe in, further the businesses we're engaged in, that can grow our networks. And so embarrassment can have an anti-economic effect in terms of limiting interactions. Sure. Well, if I'm afraid to do anything that I might otherwise be benefited by doing, that's a problem. I mean, if... Exactly. Exactly. And very often, it's simply that fear of embarrassment, of that fear of saying the wrong thing, that fear of being judged, that is all that's in the way between you and some advancement in your own life that actually would also benefit society as a whole. Right. I mean, if I'm afraid to give that speech and I never give it, then I don't meet that person afterwards who offers me a job and pays me a million dollars,

all because I was afraid that I might blow it and people would judge me. Exactly, exactly. And we often talk about stage fright, but I think we also need to talk about stage flight, which is that people flee from the stage. They don't take that center stage because of that potential of being judged. And yet, why do you suppose it is that since all of us have sat in the audience and seen someone embarrassed, whether it's a formal presentation or in the audience just being

in the room or wherever, we don't judge. We more likely feel sorry for that person or, you know, root for them in hopes that they recover. We're not saying, oh, what a jerk, what an ass, what an idiot. And yet that person thinks that's what we're saying. But since we have the experience of being that audience, why don't we learn from it when we're embarrassed? Oh, wouldn't that be great? We would all be so much better off if we really did appreciate the way the mind actually works. Um, but instead it goes back to that, um, that imaginary spotlight effect and,

and, um, and that, that feeling like, uh, that it's a very intense feeling, um, that goes along with those physical sensations. It would be nice if your face just blushed, but you didn't feel anything. Instead, your heart beats faster. Your vision narrows. When you're embarrassed, you can actually see less. And in part, though, it's because it gets tied in the brain is a pretty primitive instrument in certain ways. And it gets tied into those fight flight responses that we know are designed for our survival to protect us. So that if you're in the the wild and there's a very large animal that could eat you,

your fight-flight response kicks in and you either run away or you're going to go into fighting mode. Embarrassment turns into that because of the way the brain is designed and the impulses of the amygdala that are in the brain that trigger that fight-flight response. So what can people do, if anything, to mitigate that when they're feeling embarrassed? Does it help to say, I know everybody's judging me, but they're really not? Well, actually, it does help. We do think it does help often to put on loudspeaker the things, the thoughts that you're having. So it does actually simply help to say, oh, am I embarrassed? Boy, am I embarrassed right now? Or to make some joke about it.

If it's a one-on-one conversation to say, have you ever done anything like that? And then let the other person talk and share. And when the other person shares what they've done, that tends to dissipate the embarrassment because we feel then very connected. The whole point of embarrassment is it's designed to connect us,

and we have to kind of follow that. Because it's a tricky thing. We want to hide our face, but that's supposed to show simply we didn't mean to be a threat. We know we messed up. But there's a lot of things we get embarrassed by that could never be interpreted as a threat. We know we messed up. But there's a lot of things we get embarrassed by that could never be interpreted as a threat. You know, if I trip on the steps or I walk in the room with toilet

paper on my shoe, that doesn't threaten anybody. It just looks really stupid. Well, it could, see, if you trip on the steps, right, you're making a loud noise and it is not what is normally done. And so if everybody turns around, they don't know right in that moment, they don't know if they're about to be attacked. They don't know if you are, you know, trying to cause a ruckus, if you're angry. And so by being embarrassed, your body is taking over that communication process, and it's taking it over, and it's saying, before you even need to, before you have a chance to, no, no, no, no, no, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry, it was just me making a mistake. It was just me making a mistake. It seems so human, and yet it's so humiliating. It is, exactly.

Oh, it's terrible, I know. Why have you studied this? What's your fascination with it? I grew up embarrassed about a lot of things. I grew up embarrassed about the fact that I didn't know how to ride a bike when I was a kid. I wasn't good at sports. I vividly, vividly remember in first grade when a teacher asked a question about, how do they know about the traffic on the radio? And I was like, oh, I was so sure I had the answer. And I gave the answer. I said, it's radar, it's radar. And the teacher said, no, not radar. And kind of other kids laughed and I was so embarrassed. And I said to myself, oh, I will never raise my hand again unless I'm sure I have the right answer.

And those kinds of seminal early childhood moments, at least for me, became something not only that had a big impact on my life, but also became something that I was really interested in. And wow, it's incredible that those childhood experiences, they can shape us in such profound ways and they can stay with us. And I've had to work hard in my life to become more what I call socially courageous. And are you now more socially courageous? I am a lot more socially courageous than I was when I was a kid. When I was a kid, I always sat alone at a desk. I didn't sit with the other kids.

It took something for me to, um, overcome all that. And, and I wanted to do my part to help others too. Well, you mentioned earlier that adolescents, uh, this, they go into overdrive on this, but I know there, there does seem to be a scale because there are some kids who are seeing, who are like you, who are very embarrassed and very aware. And I know other kids who, they don't care what anybody thinks. It's true. It's true. And there are definitely, it has to do with the development of the brain. We know in later in life, we're pretty sure that dementia causes a reduction in your embarrassment and fear of embarrassment.

That part of being a healthy adult is having a certain degree of embarrassment and fear of embarrassment, but it does vary in the population, there's no doubt about that. Well, it's I guess supposed to be comfort in knowing that everybody shares this experience, but it doesn't seem to be very much comfort to anybody, because in the moment it just feels horrible, and no matter how you try to convince yourself that everybody does it, it doesn't matter. Well, it does take some practice to always be looking for the humor and to be able to laugh at yourself. And the more you can laugh at yourself, the less it will impact you.

If you take yourself very seriously and your life very seriously, that's only going to aggravate the situation. But if you can have a good sense of humor about yourself, because humor is perspective, it's remembering that there's a big universe out there. We're all bits of dust in the universe and that the things that are happening to us, nobody's going to remember in a few years anyway. So the more you can have a sense of humor about it,

definitely the less impact it will have on you. And that's really what it is for teenagers, right? We want them to have a sense of humor about themselves, and it's very hard for them to do that. We at least should model that for them. Well, you're so right, because no matter how embarrassing something is, with a little passage of time, nobody else is thinking about it. It's just you thinking about it, and nobody else cares. Well, this has been really interesting. David Allen has been my guest. His book is I Can't Believe I Just Did That. There's a link to his book in the show notes for this episode. Thank you, David. Thank you. Take care, Mike. Everyone has trouble falling asleep from time to time. I know I do. I'm sure you do. And you've no doubt heard the suggestion

that you should count sheep, that that's a nice boring thing to do that will lull you to sleep. Well, according to Dr. Michael Bruce, also known as the Sleep Doctor, counting sheep is not the best thing to do. It's actually too boring. In one sleep study,

participants who pictured serene scenes like a beach or a forest or a babbling brook, those people fell asleep about 20 minutes sooner than the people who were counting sheep. Now here are some other sleep-inducing suggestions from Dr. Bruce. Try counting backwards from 300 by threes. Or if that doesn doesn't work, start at 1,000 and count backwards by sevens. And that should put you to sleep. Also, imagine you're an astronaut on a spacewalk or that you're floating on a cloud. Imagine that your thoughts are bubbles drifting out of your head, and poof, they're gone. Or, here's another one, work your way through the alphabet, coming up with a word for each

letter as you go. And you should probably be asleep before you get to Z. And that is something you should know. And that's it. That's our first program of 2018. I invite you to follow us on social media. We're on Facebook and Twitter. And you can also email me anytime about anything.

I'm at Mike at SomethingYouShouldKnow.net. I'm Mike Carruthers. Thanks for listening today to Something You Should Know. Welcome to the small town of Chinook, where faith runs deep and secrets run deeper. In this new thriller, religion and crime collide when a gruesome murder rocks the isolated Montana community. Everyone is quick to point their fingers at a drug-addicted teenager, but local deputy Ruth Vogel isn't convinced. She suspects connections to a powerful religious group. Enter federal agent V.B. Loro, who has been investigating a local church for possible criminal activity. The pair form an unlikely partnership

to catch the killer, unearthing secrets that leave Ruth torn between her duty to the law, her religious convictions, and her very own family. But something more sinister than murder is afoot, and someone is watching Ruth. Chinook, starring Kelly Marie Tran and Sanaa Lathan.

Listen to Chinook wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Jennifer, a co-founder of the Go Kid Go Network. At Go Kid Go, putting kids first is at the heart of every show that we produce. That's why we're so excited to introduce a brand new show to our network called The Search for the Silver Lightning, a fantasy adventure series about a spirited young girl named Isla who time travels to the mythical land of Camelot.

During her journey, Isla meets new friends, including King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and learns valuable life lessons with every quest, sword fight, and dragon ride. Positive and uplifting stories remind us all about the importance of kindness, friendship, honesty, and positivity. life lessons with every quest sword fight and dragon ride positive and uplifting stories remind us all about the importance of kindness friendship honesty and positivity join me and an all-star cast of actors including liam neeson emily blunt kristin bell chris hemsworth among many others

in welcoming the search for the silver lining podcast the go kid go network by listening today look for the search for the silver lining on spotify apple or wherever you get your podcasts